


Chocolates and Confessions

by clynnbubbles



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Yabu/Inoo friendship, mentioned yabuhika
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29411856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clynnbubbles/pseuds/clynnbubbles
Summary: Kei was starting to have second thoughts about giving Yuya chocolates on Valentine's day.
Relationships: Inoo Kei/Takaki Yuya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Chocolates and Confessions

“It’s just over a month until Valentine’s day… I wanted to give him home-made chocolates. But this is what he says? Just a close friend?” Kei complained as he stared at the words in the magazine. After another moment his eyes travelled to the photo, thinking about how attractive the other man was. This thought brought a sigh from him. It kind of stung to read that, considering that in his own interview he had basically proclaimed his love for Yuya - but maybe it was right that it was unrequited after all. His fingers drummed on the table as he frowned down at the page.

“Inoochan, stop. You’re driving me crazy with that.” Kei glanced up. He had almost forgotten the youngest member was still there too. “If you want Yuya to know how you feel you need to just be upfront with him instead of just giving these answers in magazine interviews. You’re known as the random one so like that he probably can’t take it too seriously,” Chinen said, setting his phone down and giving him a pointed look.

“You make that sound so easy.” Kei closed the magazine and stood up. “Goodnight Chinen-chan.” Chinen lifted his hand in a half wave before going back to his game while Kei headed out, checking in with his manager before heading home.   
  
Maybe Chinen did have a good point but it truly was not that easy - if it was true that Yuya only considered him as a friend and Kei confessed, it had the potential to ruin their relationship. Not only that, but it would affect their working relationship too, and probably the dynamic of the group as well. And that terrified him to no end. Kei unlocked the door when he got home, running a bath with the addition of salts and scented oil. He really thought he needed it. 

“Maybe I won’t make him chocolates then… or I’ll give them to Daiki instead.” He mumbled as he stripped and sank into the water after stopping the tub up to his chin. It was late already - the time he and Yuya would usually talk on the phone about whatever, their day, anything that happened or anything they were feeling, but Kei didn’t want to. He wanted to take a bath and sulk about the man he loved for years basically putting him the friend zone.   
  
He heard his phone ringing from the other room but he ignored it, sinking down further in the tub to try to drown out the sound. He would deal with this tomorrow. If not tomorrow then eventually, or maybe it would be something he’d just have to push back. At that point, Kei didn’t know anything about what he would do.

The avoiding of the calls only lasted for a couple of days, because Kei figured that he needed to still act as naturally as possible around Yuya so he would avoid making the older worried about him, or any of the other members for that matter. He was usually a relatively mysterious person with his moods anyway, so there would really be nothing odd if he were to appear moody during work - which he was. Kei did find himself casting gazes at Yuya every now and again which definitely did not go unnoticed by the members. Even though he didn’t really think it was odd behaviour for him, he was getting looks from the other members of Best.   
  
This time after work he politely declined Daiki’s invitation to come to the sauna with him and Yuya, fibbing an early shoot for Mezamashi in the morning so he could just go home. Once he got there he checked his phone, only to see a message from Yabu who had apparently overheard the last little bit of conversation between them.

“I know your schedule well enough to know that what you said isn’t true.” The screen read as he checked the message. “What’s going on with you?”

“What? I just didn’t feel like hanging out. It’s not a big deal.”

The typing icon came and went from his screen for a few minutes. Kei set the phone away and flopped down on the couch with an arm over his eyes. It was that exact moment that he got another message, his phone buzzing to notify him. This time he decided to ignore it and let himself fall asleep.  
  


* * *

  
“Kei, Valentine’s day is in a couple of weeks now. Have you decided what you’re going to make yet?” Daiki had the tendency to rib him about this since he had mentioned in two different magazine interviews, wanting to make chocolate for Yuya and give it to him.

“Why do you ask? You want it instead don’t you?” Kei wound up teasing him in return, not giving a straight answer. He knew Daiki was good at sensing the atmosphere, nothing ever got past him when there was something wrong with any of the members or they were just moody.

“Really? Would you give it to me? I would love you forever!” He was being playful now, grabbing at him for a hug and exaggerated kissing him.

“Oi - stop it or you won’t get anything!” Kei shoved him, though not too roughly as he laughed. Daiki no doubt noticed his unenthused response and he was probably a bit concerned about it. His feelings seemed to be no secret to the other members - everybody except Yuya, who seemed like he didn’t take him very seriously.

“Nah, you should give them to Yuya. I’m sure it would make him happy.” Daiki nudged him with his elbow as Kei let out a small laugh. 

“Who knows. He’s not a huge fan of sweets so he’d probably prefer some sort of salty snack instead.” Once again, he was avoiding taking the subject too seriously because Kei was not the type of person who wanted to put his worries on others. He often shouldered them himself and this was no different.   
  
He glanced to the other side of the room where Yuya was talking in a hushed tone with Yabu, casting an occasional glance Kei’s way. Kei averted his gaze as his cheeks grew warm. Somehow catching the other’s gaze like that always managed to make his heart pick up speed, even after so long. He couldn’t help but wonder what those two were talking about.

“ - Kei! Earth to Kei!” Daiki’s hand was suddenly waving in front of his face, causing him to startle. “I was asking if you wanted to go to the sauna with me after.”

“Sure, I’ll go.” Listening to Daiki talk about the sauna would probably be a good distraction from his mind anyway, since he always got so into it. It was comparable to the way Hikaru spoke about coffee. Comparable to the way Yuya spoke about his bike or the sea or certain foods he really loved. 

“Let’s go.” Kei spoke, shaking out of his thoughts as he got up, letting Daiki lead the way so they could head to the sauna together. It was a usual thing for them, but this time Kei felt far from usual and the more he tried to ignore it the more it felt like it was going to force its way to the surface.  
  


* * *

  
The sauna with Daiki proved to be a pretty good distraction, talking about nothing important and laughing together felt good. Kei had a couple days off after that, with only a location shoot for Inooshira to fill the time so he decided to stay home for most of it and ignore his phone and play on his keyboard at home instead. Playing it in front of a crowd would easily make him anxious but playing at home was often relaxing and something he enjoyed doing. There was nothing in particular that he was playing, just a few tunes from Jump’s songs that he knew off the top of his heart, and before he knew it his fingers were gliding on the keys almost effortlessly as he played the tune for Daimei Monogatari. Eventually he wound up humming with the song and once he realized, his fingers stopped and he stared at them for a moment. There was no part of his mind that Yuya didn’t inhabit, was there?

Kei got up from the seat and went to check his phone, almost disappointed to not see any messages from the other, there was just one from Yabu inviting him over for a meal and movie night. He sent a reply that he would be there, going to get ready shortly after.

Some time passed and he was in Yabu’s living room, eating pizza and drinking beer that the other had provided for the two of them. The move had been forgotten shortly after it started as they had started to chat about whatever came to mind as they ate - a bit of soccer, a bit of sauna, then the conversation settled on the other members. As much as Kei tried to avoid the topic, he couldn’t do it. Not with Yabu.

“Yuya’s worried about you, you know.” Yabu told him as he wiped his hands on a napkin before picking up his drink. “He said he thinks you’re avoiding him.”

“Huh? I haven’t been avoiding him.” It was true. They still spoke at work and Kei still participated in the usual phone calls to avoid that kind of thing happening between them. Yabu just looked at him for a moment, maybe he was trying to sense his mood but when the oldest gave him that look he felt exposed more than anything.

“He thinks you’re acting differently, and to be honest I agree. What’s going on, Kei?”

“Look, it’s nothing important okay? I’ll get over it.” Kei really didn’t want to talk to Yabu of all people about it, because then he would give him that really sympathetic and caring look and even with only a couple of beers in him he would probably get emotional and cry.

“Is this about what he said in that interview?” Kei’s expression must have said it all at that point. He tended to be bad at keeping a poker face, especially when he had a buzz going on.

“Is this why you gave me alcohol? So you could pry into my brain?” Kei joked, but took another drink anyway.

“Nothing of the sort.” Yabu gave him his sort of all knowing smile. “You know you need to talk to him, right? Everybody can see how you feel about him.”

“Everybody except him, right?” Kei let out a laugh, though it probably wound up sounding strained before he cleared his throat. “No. He already made his feelings perfectly clear and if I said anything now it would probably wreck things, wouldn’t it?”

“Kei… I don’t think that’s true. He cares about you a lot and he would want to know what you’re thinking.” Yabu paused for a moment. “Can I be straight with you?”

“About what?”

“He might think… with those interview answers, that you’re just messing around. You always have that image to joke without being too serious, and you say you love people a lot don’t you? So maybe he thinks you’re joking when you say that you like him and want to give him chocolates.” Kei went silent after that, downing the rest of his beer. His mind needed to take a moment to process what Yabu had just said to him.

“That’s a lie, right? He’s not that dense to think that anything I say about him is joking around. Not after everything we’ve been through and done together.”

“I’m just saying you should talk to him.” Yabu gave him another smile, which honestly irritated Kei at that point. How could he smile and be so easy-going when he was clearly in distress? “You never know what might happen.”

“Wait…” Kei stared at him. “Is that what you guys were talking about all hush-hush earlier? Me?” With this talk Yabu was giving him, it was beginning to make more sense about what was going on.

“He might have been consulting and confiding in me a little.” Yabu admitted. The oldest knew he was bad at lying so he didn’t bother trying. “But as I said, he’s just worried about you. He thinks he did something wrong and he can’t figure out what. You know how sensitive he is, Kei.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Kei set the empty beer down on the table, wiping his hands with his own napkin. “I just don’t think I can handle doing anything about it. I’m too scared to mess things up between us. And it would change the dynamic of the group too - no, I can’t do that.”

“I respect how you feel, but I still think you should think about it a bit more okay? Clearly this is making you suffer and I don’t want to see you sad. None of us do.” Kei puffed his cheeks out a little after Yabu said that, silently agreeing to the terms that he would at least think about saying something. Or maybe even making the chocolates for Valentine’s day…

Yabu smiled at him, nudging him with his elbow gently as they then went back to watching the movie. They had missed a lot of it, therefore it was a bit confusing but it was still comfortable being together with him like this. Yabu had that effect on him, even though he basically just called him out on his behaviour.

Well, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to think harder on this before making any decisions.  
  


* * *

  
The conversation with Yabu weighed on his mind for a while after that, but he still had not gotten up the courage to talk to Yuya about what was going on with him. Valentine’s day was approaching fast, less than a week away, and he was in planning mode. He decided that maybe he should make the chocolate for him after all, but just give it to him as a friend. It would all depend on Yuya’s reaction whether or not he would say anything. Kei kind of hoped Yabu wouldn’t share their conversation with Yuya but he wouldn’t put it past him to say something at least similar, that they should just talk to each other. Communication was key after all, right? That didn’t take away how hard it was though, when it came to something like attraction or romantic feelings.

That day he had gone home to visit his mom and take one of the dogs for a walk since he had the day off. Coming back to Saitama after a long time of working felt like a good refresh on his system. Seeing his parents and the dogs, eating his mom's home cooked meals, it always made him feel better when he was down or tired.

Kei let Miruku lead him down the walking path, and when they reached the road that led to the beach he spotted a motorbike that looked very familiar. So familiar that he felt his heart leap and he stopped in his tracks. Miruku complained and pulled on the leash, suddenly barking a happy sound when the familiar figure approached from a distance. The build, the glasses, the tousled hair from his helmet, Kei felt his heart beat faster in his chest.

“Yuya… What are you doing here?” Kei asked, a bit dumbfounded to see the other in his hometown like this on their day off.

“I was in the neighbourhood.” It sounded like a joke, and if it wasn’t Kei would be able to tell that it was due to the slight lift of his lips at the corner, almost half a smirk. Yuya crouched down to greet Miruku, letting her sniff his hand and petting her soft fur. “I wanted to see you and you’ve been avoiding my texts.”

“Huh? You know I don’t always reply to texts anyway.” Kei fiddled with the leash.

“Yeah, but you never usually ignore my texts.”

“Okay, fine. But why did you want to see me bad enough that you’d travel all the way here? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I guess I was just worried, and I’ve missed you - ah, the way we talked before. I was actually wondering if everything was okay with you.” Yuya had this soft smile on his face that made Kei feel a bit unsteady, like if Miruku pulled on the leash again he would stumble forward.

“I’m okay. I’ve just been distracted I suppose. Learning to cook, learning new pieces on the piano, trying to find new hobbies to pick up…” It was probably the lamest excuse ever, and Kei had to stop himself from cringing about it. “Last month was just crazy, I guess I’m trying to recharge from being tired.”

“I get that, Kei-chan…” He trailed off with a small smile. “But you usually don’t need time to yourself this much to accomplish that.”

The silence between them that followed felt awkward and heavy to Kei. Miruku had given up tugging on the leash, now just sitting and staring between the two of them almost as if she was trying to sense what was going on.

“I’m sorry you thought you had to come all the way out here just to talk to me. But I promise I’m fine. We’re fine.” The latter half was a lie of course but Kei really did not know how to deal with that yet.

“Can I walk with you for a bit?” Yuya finally wound up asking, to which Kei nodded and gave Miruku a nudge so they could start walking again. They walked along the path together, quietly but not as awkward as a few moments ago. The weather was growing colder by the day so there was no reason not to walk close, and every single time their arms brushed Kei swore he felt electricity despite the fact that they were both wearing jackets.

“I can’t believe you came to Saitama just to see me.” Kei said after a while, a small chuckle escaping. “What if I didn't come here today? Then you’d just be wandering around.”

“I guess you’re right.” Yuya laughed. The sound was like music to Kei’s ears, and he found himself smiling without even being aware of doing it. “But there are times that you’re pretty predictable, this is one of them.”

It was another one of those situations where Yuya knew him all too well.

“I guess you got lucky this time.”

“Maybe you could say that.” Yuya rubbed his hands together as if to warm them before sticking them in his pocket.

It went quiet again between them after that, but they still kept on walking in the same direction. It was strange how when he was together with the other, he lost how much time had passed until Miruku started to get tired, wanting to sit down.

“I guess I should probably take her back to the house.” Kei bent over to pick her up, rubbing behind her ears as he turned to Yuya. There almost seemed to be a flash of disappointment in his gaze but he seemed to hide it well. Not from Kei, though. “Walk with me? Then I’ll walk you back to your bike. I don’t feel right ditching you in my hometown when you came here to see me.” Kei meant it as a teasing comment but it definitely wasn’t a lie. He would feel bad just leaving Yuya by himself like that. His lips lifted into his quirky smile and he nodded, so they started on the way back.

The conversation now was more at ease, closer to how they usually were. Talking, joking, bantering back and forth, and once they arrived back at Kei’s family home he was a bit sad that their time would be ending soon. Once he gave Miruku some water and let her rest, Kei went out to meet Yuya again.

“Thanks for walking with me today. And for coming to see me. I guess it was pretty great.” Kei smiled as they headed back to his bike.

“I just wanted to know that everything was okay with you, Kei-chan. And I’m still not entirely convinced but I’m glad I could see you acting more like yourself today.” Yuya nudged his shoulder, and the gesture gave Kei a warm feeling. “I was looking forward to getting your chocolates on Valentine’s day too.”

“Oh. That.” Kei stopped walking when they came back to where Yuya parked his bike. “Right.”

“That’s a very...unenthused response.” He pulled his helmet on. “You’re going to make it right? I know I said I don’t like sweets that much but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it if it’s something you made.”

“Really? I thought you’d prefer if I got you takoyaki instead.” Kei chuckled, and once again he was doing the thing where he avoided answering the question directly. Even if Yuya picked up on it, he just laughed.

“I guess you’re not wrong. But I’m still looking forward to Valentine’s day.”

Yuya smiled at him, Kei gave a small smile back as he watched the other drive off. Kei didn’t know how long he had stood there, the warmth of the feeling coursing through him was enough to stem the chill setting in from being outside so long. It felt so good to be with Yuya, and it just reaffirmed Kei’s feelings of being completely and utterly in love with him.  
  


* * *

  
The day before Valentine’s day, Kei was pacing in his kitchen as his phone displayed a recipe and a cup of tea brewed on the counter. He thought that at this point there was no way he couldn’t give him the chocolates - not after their last interaction in his hometown. He had texted Yabu and told him that he would be honest about his feelings, silencing his messages as he then searched for the recipe to make the chocolates, something not that sweet that Yuya would like. He thought he found something good, a salty and sweet type of chocolate treat, but now Kei’s nerves were really starting to get him.

“Okay, one step at a time right? Right. First thing to do is just make the chocolate. That’s not so hard.” He talked to himself, staring at the recipe and then getting started, following each step specifically in the recipe so he wouldn’t mess anything up. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be to finish up the chocolates and get them packaged nicely, in a box wrapped with a nice bow. Without having something to do, his mind was racing again with anxiety of how he would react. To confess on Valentine’s day of all days, wasn’t that way too cheesy? But maybe Yuya did have to know how he felt, and there was probably no better time to do it than after presenting him with homemade chocolates.

Kei hit the dial on Yabu’s number, needing a bit of reassurance before he did anything. The oldest member was the one who encouraged him in the first place. He left it on the counter on speaker, listening to it ring and licking some chocolate from his finger as he waited. It took a few rings for Yabu to pick up, answering a groggy ‘hello?’

“Were you sleeping?” Kei looked at the time, noting that it was too late for him to be sleeping in.

“Yeah, we were up really late last night.” It sounded like he was yawning, and Kei cringed a little.

“Ew, I didn’t want to know that.” He chuckled after, Yabu doing the same.

“You’re the one who asked. What’s up, Kei? Are you making the chocolate?”

“I did already. I’m kind of freaking out now, doubting my decision to ever think about doing this.”

“I can guarantee you it will be fine, you’re making him the chocolates right? And you’re going to meet tomorrow, you can talk to him then and explain to him your point of view and your feelings.”

“How can you guarantee that it’ll be fine?” Kei asked, almost incredulous by how Yabu sounded so sure about himself. “This is incredibly nerve-wracking! This is the most anxious I’ve been in a long time!”

“I get that. I felt the same way before confessing to Hika for the first time.”

“But that feels different...you guys have been acting like a married couple for years now. Yuya’s dense and he doubted me.” His voice had a bit of a whine to it. “We only started getting close a few years ago so this is really… it’s just different, okay!”

“Okay, okay. I get it. But you need to relax, Kei, if you show up like that, a bundle of nerves, he’s going to know immediately something is up before you say anything.”

“He probably knew already, Kota. He came to Saitama just to see me the other day. It’s as you said, he was worried about me and wanted to make sure everything was okay.” He sighed, elbows resting on the counter as he stared at his phone.

“Oh. He did that?” Even Yabu sounded surprised. “I think that’s all the more reason you don’t have to worry. Just go, and tell him what’s in your heart.” That’s when Kei heard a voice in the background, asking who Yabu was talking to.

“I’ll let you go now. Tell Hika I said hi.” And with that, they said their goodbyes and Kei ended the call.

Maybe Yabu was right and it wouldn’t be as difficult as he thought it would be, but that didn’t stop Kei’s stomach from turning at the mere thought of confessing his feelings to the other man. He wasn’t the type of person to take rejection well, so if Yuya didn’t feel the same way… He didn’t know what he would do.

“It’s too late to back out now.” He mumbled to himself, followed by a soft sigh. Now, he just wanted to get it over with.  
  


* * *

  
Kei hardly got any sleep that night, fitful with dreams about being rejected by Yuya - one of the dreams was sad and one of them was utterly ridiculous, so he was at least able to have a laugh about it and relinquish his nerves for a bit.

Before he knew it, it was approaching the time to meet Yuya. The older member had requested to meet him at the beach, which Kei truly didn’t understand because of how cold it had been the past days. But still, he bundled up in his coat and scarf, adding a hat and mittens just in case before grabbing the chocolates he had made and heading out to meet Yuya at their decided location. His nerves kept wracking through his body and mind, and it only increased when he saw the familiar figure standing there waiting for him. To his own confusion, it looked like Yuya was holding something too - what could the other have possibly brought? Kei remained in the car a few moments later before sliding the mittens on, taking the chocolate and getting out to go meet him.

“Hi.” Yuya greeted him as he approached - his hair was messy under his hat and he was wearing his glasses again. It gave Kei a sort of comfort but a rush at the same time. He thought, this is what it must feel like to be in love with your best friend.

“Hey.” Kei finally greeted back. “You could’ve picked a better place to meet, it’s freezing.” He almost cringed because of course the first thing he did was tease Yuya. It made him laugh none-the-less. There were the butterflies.

“Sorry. But I promise you it will be worth it. Come with me to walk for a bit.”

Kei would be lying if he said he wasn’t confused by this, but clearly the older man had something planned so he just followed him to wherever he was leading to. He got the impression that Yuya was nervous and it made him feel at least a bit at ease, though he really couldn’t understand what the other would have to be nervous about.

Though soon enough, he understood why.

“Yuya...what’s this about?” Kei asked after picking his jaw up. On the beach there, a blanket laid out with a small basket and a couple of candles that were covered in a sort of glass dome from the wind. It was a simple setup but he was blown away by it, not to mention a bit confused.

“I got some take-out from our regular sushi place and I thought we could eat here… Don’t worry, I brought blankets just in case we get cold.” He said softly, a smile on his face.

“But...what - why?” Kei managed to get out, any of his usual quips dying on his tongue as he gazed at the other, expression reading shock and curiosity that Yuya would do something like this for him.

“That’s… I’ll answer you in a bit, come sit down.” Yuya gestured him towards the blanket. Kei nodded slowly and followed him, taking a seat on the blanket and looking out to the water and just taking a moment to calm his racing heart as he fiddled with the wrapping on the box of chocolate. Yuya joined him on the blanket, sitting down as well. The moment was silent between them for a bit of time, maybe they were both trying to figure out what to say in a moment like this.

“Kei-chan… I’m sure you’ve probably figured out by now that I brought you here for a reason, on Valentine’s day of all times.” He ran his fingers through his hair, a habit that he seemed to have when he was nervous. Kei was frozen, he couldn’t speak - he couldn’t find any words. Was this what he thought it was?

“I think you should tell me,” Kei said after a while, very grateful that there was no shake in his voice due to nerves. Yuya let out a small laugh at that.

“Basically… I wanted to woo you.”

Kei almost snorted at the use of words.

“To… woo me? After saying I was only your friend?” It didn’t look like it surprised Yuya all that much for Kei to have said that.

“It’s just a magazine interview, Kei-chan. Just like I’m not going to reveal what we talk about privately, I’m not going to reveal the kinds of feelings I have for you for real.”

There it was, that word… Feelings. Kei couldn’t help but start laughing, it felt like a solid weight had been lifted from his chest.

“Wha- What are you laughing at, oi!?” Yuya sounded a bit alarmed, so Kei calmed himself enough to explain.

“Are you kidding me? I thought that’s all you would ever think of me! I spent the last almost month depressed because I thought my love was unrequited for real!”

Now it was Yuya’s turn to laugh.

“Really? So the reason you were so off... it was because of that? You really should have just talked to me.”

“Yeah… that’s what Yabu said.”

“He’s a wise man, you should always listen to him.”

There was a moment of silence between them now as they just stared at each other, Kei was in disbelief that any of this was happening. Like he would wake up from his dream at any moment. But he rubbed at his arms, giving them a subtle pinch just to confirm that it was real. That Yuya had created this grand romantic gesture for him.

“Yuya…” Kei started, his fingers playing with the blanket below him. “You know, when it comes to you, I’m always serious.” Yuya’s expression looked a bit surprised, so he continued. “I know I look like I play around a lot, but everything I said about you - enjoying your company, bragging about our closeness, about loving you...that was all true.” His face felt warm despite the chill in the air.

“Kota talked to you, didn’t he? Ugh! I can’t believe he meddled!” Yuya’s face was red as he looked to the sea, stuffing a piece of sushi in his mouth from the container. It made Kei chuckle a little, finding this pretty cute and endearing.

“Don’t be too hard on him, okay? It was kind of because of him that I’m here and telling you all this.” Plus, seeing the older man blush was definitely a bonus. “Um...here’s the chocolate I made you. It’s not too sweet, it’s made with dark chocolate and sea salt. I wanted to try something that I knew you would like.” Kei pulled the box back out and handed it to him, gaze slightly down.

Yuya nodded, seeming to have composed himself from a moment ago and turning to face him, taking the box and gently setting it down beside him. Suddenly it was hard to meet his gaze, until he felt a soft hand under his chin and his gaze being lifted up slowly.

“I’m so happy that you said all that.” Yuya told him with a smile. And since that smile was enchanting, Kei felt like he was about to become putty in his hands. His palm rested on Kei’s cheek next, thumb brushing along the cheekbone. The touch made him feel like he was on fire. “You are the one I look at. The one I want to see. Kei-chan… Before I knew it, I fell in love with you too.”

God, he felt like his heart could have exploded in that moment. Or he could burst into tears, one of the two. But of course it wound up being the latter, feeling the hot tears rolling down his cheeks even though he was still smiling.

“Aw, don’t cry.” Though Kei could have swore he saw the others eyes shining too, before he turned a little to get a napkin to hand to him.

“I’m just… I thought you only thought of us as friends. So I’m surprised… I’m surprised and I’m really happy.” His voice cracked as he spoke, using the napkin to clean his tears.

“I’m still a bit surprised that you took that so seriously… we’re always doing things like that for the fans' enjoyment.” Yuya smiled, a hint of amusement glinting in his eyes.

“Yeah well… if you had feelings for me you were doing a good job at hiding it.” He pouted a little now, fingers picking at a loose thread on the blanket beneath them and shivering when a cold wind hit him.

“Come here.” He looked up in time to see Yuya bringing a blanket to wrap around him, and suddenly their faces were really close. Close enough that Kei could feel the other’s hot breath on his skin. He froze on the spot, his eyes immediately cast down to those lips that were so close to his own and he once again felt like his heart would burst right out of his chest with how fast it was racing. Neither of them moved for what seemed like a long time, and for a second he thought Yuya was going to pull back so he went in, bridging the gap between them and pressing his lips against Yuya’s. He didn’t quite know what he was doing but it was impulse - but after a long moment he felt Yuya kissing him back. Yuya’s lips felt warm against his; he tasted like sushi and a hint of cigarette smoke. Even though Kei didn’t like smokers, somehow the subtle taste of Yuya was good. It felt like it was only a brief moment before they were pulling back, both with flushed faces and breathing a bit harder than usual.

“Thank you,” Yuya blurted out. Kei blinked slowly, his lips forming a small ‘o’ shape as he tried to figure out what to respond to that. Yuya had just thanked him after they kissed, he wasn’t sure what to do with that.

  
“For…?”

“For doing that. I wanted to but I almost chickened out so I’m glad you did it instead.” Yuya broke out into this huge smile that felt like it reached his heart.

“You’re a dork.” Kei laughed softly, and as he pulled back a little he immediately felt the lack of warmth that the other provided. “After saying what you said, and having your lips so close to mean, you can’t say that you didn’t expect it to happen.”

“I expected it.”

“Okay. Then you can expect it more often from now on too.” Kei spoke that as a smile tugged at his lips. He literally did feel like he was on cloud nine, light as a feather and just incredibly happy. “I’m really glad you did this, invited me out like this… If you hadn’t, I probably never would have had the courage to confess my feelings to you.”

“I think it was about time.” Yuya started laughing a bit. “The other members have been giving us looks for months now! Haven’t you noticed it?”

Kei could feel his cheeks warm a little after he said that. “Not really. I was mostly watching you.”

“Eh - Wow I was not expecting such a smooth line coming from you, Kei-chan.” Yuya looked like he was blushing now, and with that Kei felt a bit triumphant.

“Hey, I can be pretty charming, you know.”

“I know. It’s one of the many things that made me fall for you in the first place. But for now, let’s enjoy our sushi okay? Before it freezes.” It was a joke because obviously the sushi wouldn’t freeze, but Kei laughed and nodded in agreement as they started to share their meal together.

Yes, there was a change between them.

And yes, it was the most incredible change that Kei could have ever imagined.


End file.
